Davie County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Davie County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Dec 4, 2002Ice Storm, Davie$9.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snow began during the early afternoon across the North Carolina foothills and northwest piedmont, and had accumulated to 3 to 5 inches by late evening. A transition to sleet and then freezing rain occurred during the late evening, and ice accumulated to between 1/4 and 1/2 inch. The result was widespread power outages, which lasted for a week or more in some areas.

2. Mar 20, 2003Flood, Davie$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   After morning flash flooding on the 20th, moderating rainfall resulted in slower rises, but continued and additional flooding along creeks and streams that persisted for several days. Flooding was especially severe in eastern portions of the county, along the Yadkin River, South Yadkin River, Dutchman's Creek, and Hunting Creek. Water on some of these streams increased to their highest levels in 7 years.

3. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Davie$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   After an intense, but relatively brief high wind event affected the mountains and foothills on the evening of the 15th, another widespread damaging high wind event developed during the day of the 16th. However, this particular event included much of the piedmont. Thousands of trees fell across the area, resulting in widespread power outages. Numerous trees fell on roads, homes, and vehicles. The Blue Ridge mountains and the foothills received the brunt of the strongest winds. In Highlands, NC, two homes were heavily damaged by fallen trees, while approximately 100 homes received minor to moderate damage. A tree fell on and severely damaged a home in Otto, NC. Two businesses…

4. May 8, 2008Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS survey found a tornado track that began just north of the Advance community and tracked for one mile before moving into extreme southwest Forsyth County. A frame house was heavily damaged by the tornado.

5. May 24, 2017Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS storm survey found the path of a strong tornado that touched down just south of the intersection of highways 601 and 801. Damage was initially limited to downed trees. However, the tornado intensified as it moved north/northeast, especially from Four Corners Rd to the Yadkin County line. A mobile home was flipped and completely destroyed in this area. An occupant was thrown approximately 30 feet, but survived. Another home had much of its roof blown off and a storage building also destroyed in this area. Numerous trees were also blown down. The tornado crossed into Yadkin County near Chinquapin Creek. The tornado was the strongest in Davie County since 2008, and was only the…

6. Nov 13, 2020Flood$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Moderate flooding developed along the South Yadkin River after 4 to 6 inches on rain fell within the basin in less than 24 hours. Multiple roads were inundated on the Davie County side while several homes in the Cooleemee community were flooded.

7. Mar 7, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$70,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   As the cold front moved across the northern foothills and northwest piedmont, thunderstorms accompanying the front intensified somewhat, producing occasional wind gusts that enhanced the strong gradient winds. The interaction of the thunderstorm gusts and strong gradient winds resulted in some significant damage. Numerous barns and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed. Trees, power poles, and billboards were blown down. Power outages were widespread. In Salisbury, a section of the roof of a building was blown into a mobile home sales lot, causing damage to several units.

8. Jul 2, 1996Lightning$60,000
9. Jun 2, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   County comms and Emergency Manager reported numerous trees blown down in the area around downtown Mocksville, with a few trees down on homes. Damage became more sporadic, but continued northeast of the downtown area.

10. Mar 7, 2004High Wind, Davie$30,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    As the cold front moved into the piedmont, wind damage continued and became more severe. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down, while roofs were torn off of some buildings. Some outbuildings and barns were damaged or destroyed. In Mecklenburg County, an 81-year-old man was killed in Huntersville, when a tree fell across the deck on which he was standing.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

103°F3 times, most recently Aug 10, 2007

All-time low

−7°FFeb 5, 1996

Warmest night

83°FJul 19, 1898

Coldest day

16°F2 times, most recently Feb 13, 1899

Wettest day

5.12 inSep 8, 1977

Snowiest day

12.0 inMar 1, 1942

Hottest year

1990mean 62.4°F

Coldest year

1996mean 54.1°F

Wettest year

202066.81 in

Driest year

200124.26 in

Snowiest season

25.8 in1941-42

Station Mocksville 5SE (USC00315743), 680 ft elevation, 6.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 26, 2026; 94.1% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00315743.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.